Kurz raising to Austria’s chancellor

Austrian conservative politician Sebastian Kurz (31) will become one of the world’s youngest leaders, and certainly, youngest for the job, in case he becomes chancellor after parliamentary elections on Sunday, October 15.

But Kurz, already the youngest foreign minister, has convinced many voters that he will bring something new to an old party even though his views beyond the central campaign issue of immigration are largely in line with the old OVP.

The keen windsurfer and hiker has rebranded the party as the “New People’s Party” and changed its colour from black to turquoise and drawn in candidates from outside the OVP ranks.

The party’s posters carry urgent slogans like “Now or never” and “This time, Kurz”. Polls show his party clearly in the lead with about a third of the vote, with the FPO and Social Democrats neck and neck.